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SearchToday in Islamophobia: U.S Commission says China might be guilty of “crimes against humanity,” even as U.S authorities continue to detain Iranians and Iranian-Americans at the border. The protests in India continue as an op-ed argues the “death of democracy” in the country. Our recommended read today is by Peter Beinart titled “The Nationalism that Trump Can’t See.” This, and more, below:
United States
The Nationalism That Trump Can’t See | Recommended Read
For any president to so recklessly foment anti-American nationalism would be remarkable. But that Trump is doing so is particularly ironic. No other president in modern American history has made nationalism as central to his political identity. None has so loudly and unambiguously celebrated it on the international stage. How can a president so attuned to nationalism’s power at home ignore its power in Iran and Iraq? The answer, as with so much about Trump, involves religion and race. Trump respects—and even reveres—nationalism in countries he views as Western and white. But he derides and dismisses it almost everywhere else. read the complete article
Iranians, Iranian Americans Detained At U.S.-Canada Border Fear Crackdown On Civil Rights
When Heidi and her girlfriend — both Nexus cardholders who are qualified for expedited processing — crossed back into the U.S. that Saturday afternoon, they received an ominous orange slip that told them to exit their vehicle for additional screening. U.S. officials took their passports and Heidi’s green card away and questioned them for hours. Heidi, who is using a pseudonym in this story for fear of retaliation, was questioned about her place of birth, her current occupation, whether she had ever touched a gun, where she studied, and her political views on the latest escalation between the United States and Iran, she told HuffPost. read the complete article
Anti-Muslim and anti-LGBTQ conspiracy theorist Frank Wuco has left the Trump administration and returned to punditry
Conspiracy theorist Frank Wuco has left his senior adviser position at the State Department and returned to being a pundit. Wuco frequently made anti-Muslim and anti-LGBTQ remarks as a right-wing commentator. Wuco is a retired naval intelligence officer who initially joined the Department of Homeland Security in January 2017 and became a senior adviser, helping implement Trump’s orders to the agency, including his ban on travelers from some Muslim-majority countries. read the complete article
Trump tried to start a war over an American killed in Iraq — except he would have never let him in the country in the first place
If Donald Trump had his way, Nawres Hamid would never have been allowed into America. Hamid was the U.S. military contractor killed on a military base in Iraq on December 27. No group has taken responsibility for the attack. Indications are ISIS, which is said to “operate a small insurgency” in the area, may have carried out the deadly rocket attack. Despite the lack of evidence, Trump blamed Iraq’s next-door neighbor. “Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will,” Trump said days later. read the complete article
A war in Iran fuels the war at home for American Muslims
Our analysis of Islamophobia must not begin with its post-9/11 iterations. Surveillance of Muslims is as old as this country itself, explained Vanessa Taylor, a Black Muslim journalist. During slavery, there were efforts to police religion among enslaved people, with forced conversion to Christianity being common. And it continued after that, with Black Muslims of the Moorish Science Temple being tracked by the FBI in the 1930s and of the Nation of Islam being targeted during COINTELPro. read the complete article
India
Why India’s Students Are Angry and Its Muslims Are Worried
Back in 1947, India’s constitution writers envisaged a secular state where all citizens were equal before the law. But the rise of Hindu nationalism has been testing that ideal. Since Narendra Modi became prime minister in 2014, hardliners in his Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, have become increasingly emboldened in promoting the dominance of its Hindus, who form 80% of the population. In December, protests broke out over a restrictive new citizenship law -- the latest in a string of actions worrying to the country’s 170 million Muslims that have followed Modi’s landslide re-election in May. read the complete article
Opinion | The death of Indian democracy
It is alarming that Indian universities, including JNU, have become a center stage of an ideological conflict, in which the right-wing groups are increasingly using the "nationalism card" to stifle dissent. JNU has repeatedly been accused of promoting anti-government activities, which could be the reason for police inaction during the January 5 attack on secular students by the members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (AVBP), the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) – the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's mother organization. The masked attackers said their assault was part of their "united front against the left," as they unleashed terror on peaceful students that were protesting against a fee hike as well as a new citizenship law that discriminates against Muslims. read the complete article
International
U.S. commission says China may be guilty of "crimes against humanity"
In its annual report released today, the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) said that there is a "strong argument" that China has committed "crimes against humanity" in its northwestern region of Xinjiang. Why it matters: A growing number of voices, in and out of government, are saying that China's mass detention camps clearly violate international law. The commission listed several acts committed by the Chinese government in Xinjiang that could, under the Rome statute of the International Criminal Court, support a legal case that China has committed "crimes against humanity." read the complete article